Research and Rest

This week and last I've been in a weird state of busy-ness alternating with slow, peaceful moments. Those quiet moments come when Isaac is awake and I am just playing with him. The busy moments are all the other times when I am trying to get stuff accomplished. I haven't been posting as much because my "blogging time" (i.e. Isaac's naptime) has now become "homework time." Right now is just blatant procrastination of my homework.

School is going well. I'm taking Adolescent Development and Research and Analysis--the class in which I'm beginning my Master's research project. Adolescent Development is really interesting and I'm seeing it with new eyes as a mother. I keep thinking about how I can guide Isaac and any future kids through the crazy time of teenagehood. One of our recent readings was from Beverly Tatum's book Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, which I read in undergrad, but it hit me again this time around. It inspired me to choose a new research topic. Now I plan to do my project on this question, which I'm sure will need to be revised before I actually start my research this winter: Can a white teacher be as effective as a black teacher at helping black students through their racial identity development? If so, what are the best ways to do that? One major reason I have for choosing a topic like this is that Zach and I want to adopt either from Africa or African American kids someday. I hope my research will make me not only a better teacher of minority kids, but also a better mother.

Yesterday was one of those days when Isaac forced me to take a break from my homework to just hang with him. I decided we needed to get out of the house and enjoy the bright sunshine, even though it was pretty cold. I bundled him up and we headed to the park. We swung on the swings, went down the slide (not really impressed...), and then sat on the ground and played in the crunchy leaves. Isaac loved the leaves. When I first put him down, I thought, "This won't last long," because I was sure he would just try to put them in his mouth. But he didn't! He was totally fascinated by grabbing and crinkling them up and watching them blow in the wind. Sitting next to him and watching his interest was seriously one of the happiest little moments of my life.

After our chilly expedition we came home and turned on the fire and some Baby Mozart. One of my primary goals with raising Isaac is getting him to be snuggly. :) I sat down in the red chair and was surprised when, rather than wanting to sit up and play, he snuggled down into me and just chilled. He was watching the ceiling fan as I hummed along to the music and pretty soon his eyelids started to droop. He feel asleep right there and stayed that way for 45 minutes. Even though there are a thousand things I needed to get done, I would not move a muscle. I was so happy. I love my little snuggle buggle.